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ADVERTThe government is deliberately embracing social media influencers as a new frontline channel for communicating its programmes and shaping public understanding of its agenda, Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy Dennis Itumbi has confirmed.
Itumbi said the decision to work with digital creators was not an ad-hoc political experiment but part of a broader government communication strategy, which he linked to commitments contained in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) manifesto.
Speaking about the initiative, Itumbi said the government was endorsing 43 systems, with the use of influencers to communicate government programmes forming part of that framework. He argued that changing media-consumption habits had made digital creators too influential for the government to ignore.
“Participate in telling your government’s story from a factual level and building your country,” Itumbi told influencers, according to Citizen Digital.
He said creators would be able to access relevant government information and documents, verify the material and then explain it to their audiences in language they could easily understand.
ADVERTWhy influencers matter
The government’s argument comes against the backdrop of a dramatic transformation in how Kenyans consume information.
The Media Council of Kenya’s 2025 State of the Media Survey found that 39 per cent of Kenyans identified social media as their primary source of news, ahead of television at 31 per cent. The survey covered 3,774 respondents aged 15 and above across all 47 counties.
MCK also reported that 74 per cent of Kenyans use social or digital platforms for content and information consumption, underscoring the growing importance of Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube and other digital platforms.
Itumbi therefore argues that government communication can no longer depend exclusively on traditional media.
His position is straightforward: if the government already spends money advertising its programmes in newspapers and other established media, there is no fundamental reason, in his view, why it should not also pay digital creators to communicate public programmes to their audiences.
The SHA example
Itumbi cited public debate surrounding the Social Health Authority (SHA) to illustrate what he considers a communication gap.
He argued that claims circulating online about SHA having collapsed could sometimes reflect a failure to communicate the government’s position effectively rather than the complete absence of the programme.
His proposed solution is to have influencers examine official information before translating it into accessible digital content.
That approach, however, places a significant responsibility on creators: the larger their audience, the greater the potential impact of both accurate information and inaccurate claims.
From entertainment to government communication
The development marks another step in the rapid transformation of Kenya’s political communication landscape.
Digital creators who once concentrated largely on entertainment, lifestyle, comedy and personal commentary are increasingly becoming important intermediaries between institutions and citizens.
Recent reporting has also highlighted the growing visibility of influencers showcasing government projects and programmes, prompting questions among some Kenyans about whether such content is organically produced or supported financially by public authorities.
Itumbi has not presented government engagement with influencers as unusual. Instead, he has framed it as an adaptation to changing audience behaviour and an extension of established government communication practices. K24 similarly reported that the government sees influencer engagement as consistent with its National Government Communication Policy.
The 2027 question
The timing is likely to keep the issue firmly in the political spotlight.
With the 2027 General Election approaching, any coordinated government effort to expand its presence across social media platforms is bound to attract scrutiny from supporters and critics of the administration alike.
For the government, influencers offer something traditional advertising cannot always provide: direct access to highly segmented communities, particularly younger audiences, through personalities they already follow.
For critics, the central questions are likely to revolve around transparency, disclosure, editorial independence and the distinction between communicating public services and promoting a political narrative.
The Media Council itself has noted both the opportunities and risks accompanying Kenya’s digital transformation. Its research points to wider access, new revenue opportunities and greater diversity of voices, but also challenges involving misinformation, artificial intelligence and the declining role of traditional gatekeepers.
A new battleground for political messaging
Itumbi’s remarks effectively confirm what has increasingly become visible across Kenya’s digital space: the battle for public attention is moving decisively onto social media.
As the 2027 political season gathers momentum, influencers and content creators are likely to occupy an increasingly prominent position in the country’s information ecosystem.
The emerging question is therefore no longer simply whether governments and political actors will use influencers.
It is how openly they will do so, how such partnerships will be funded, what information creators will be given access to, and what safeguards will ensure that government communication remains factual and distinguishable from political campaigning.
For a generation consuming news through smartphones rather than newspapers or scheduled television bulletins, the influencer may increasingly become one of the most important voices through which government explains itself.
